WALK for ALS
Telling your Personal Story
What is a testimonial?
A testimonial is a personal story that provides a real-life example of the problem. It helps make the
situation real by showing how it affects people, the physical, emotional or financial impact on
individuals and those close to them. It helps to ‘prove’ that the situation you are advocating for
really happens.
Testimonials are usually written in the first person, using “I,” “me” and “we” words. Testimonials
must be about things that really happened to you. The facts must be true and accurate, but
testimonials do not have to be objective – they are meant to express your point of view.
When or why should you write a testimonial?
You should write a testimonial:
 To share your feelings about what has happened to you;
 To motivate and help others in similar situations;
 To push others, such as decision makers, to help change the situation.
How to begin
The following will provide you with a template to write your testimonial.
First, read through the questions on the next page, think about the answers, then write down your
answers. Next, use your answers to put together a written testimonial. State your situation clearly
and concisely in the opening paragraph; provide the details in the main section of your testimonial;
and, state what you want to happen in the final paragraph.
Why do you want to share your story?
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What do you hope will change as a result of sharing your story?
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Who or what is responsible for your situation (in this case, cause may be unknown, or could be
familial ALS)
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What do you think needs to be changed?
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What do you want to happen?
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Write down any other thoughts or ideas here:
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Second, turn your story into a testimonial. Use your answers to help you write it.
Opening paragraph:
 Who are you and what problem do you have?
 What happened to you?
 Why are you writing this story?
Main section (body):
 How has it affected you, your family, your work, your quality of life?
 How do you feel about it?
 What do you hope will change as a result of sharing your story?
 Who or what is responsible for your situation?
 What needs to be changed?
Call to action:
 What do you want to happen?
Sample Testimonial
Some people say I’m an inspiration... I’m not so sure about that, but I’d like to tell
you about the person who is my inspiration. The person who brought me into this
Introduction world and was always there for me, and the person who turned out to need me so
desperately as she hung on for life in her fight against the disease that took her
away from me. That person is my mother, Erika Njilas Lincmajer. On January 19,
2006, she was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). It’s a day I’ll never forget.
I’d like to share the story of my mom’s fight against ALS with you. Why? Because I
know that too many Canadians are like I was on that day – totally in the dark about
ALS and about what they can do to help.
The day before my mom was diagnosed, I didn’t know that ALS can strike anyone of
any age, gender or race. I also didn’t know that most people with ALS don’t live
more than five years with the disease. But here’s what I know now. I know that
there is not enough research into the causes of or a cure for ALS. I know that there is
not enough funding for the much-needed support services and equipment that
people living with ALS need as they battle the disease.
As a supporter of the WALK for ALS, you understand the difference your donation
can make. Your gift will mean that someone living with ALS will have the programs
and services they need to make their fight that much more comfortable. Your gift
will mean that families affected by ALS will have support services to help them along
the way. Your gift will mean more research.
Although it is too late to help my mother, your participation in the Walk, either as a
Walker or by donating to a Walker, will help thousands of Canadians currently living
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with this devastating disease. Your participation might help fund the programs
needed by someone else’s mother. Or father. Or brother, sister, son, daughter,
friend or neighbour.
I hope that after reading a little more about my family’s life with ALS, you’ll decide to
participate in the ALS Society’s signature fundraising event. But first, I’d like to tell
Body you a little more about what it’s like caring for a person with ALS. My friends often
ask me what that’s like. I usually tell them about the three ways in which my mom’s
life was taken from her, beginning with sleep.
My dad worked nights. When my mom was first diagnosed, it was okay to leave her
alone at night because she could still sleep and turn over on her own. But as ALS
slowly started taking over her body, she would be able to move but wasn’t able to
turn over. My mom’s life was changing. And so was mine. Once or twice a night I was
awakened from my bed by mom begging me to turn her over. I went from getting
eight hours of sleep in my own bed to four, maybe six hours, in my parents’ bed
beside my mom.
Never let it be said ALS is a disease that affects only the person with it. (It’s not just
me who didn’t get much sleep, by the way. Since my dad worked nights, the only
time he got two to three hours sleep was during the day when he didn’t have to do
household duties or attend to my mom.) Of course, we all have to sleep and
unfortunately, ALS took that away from our whole family.
But perhaps the saddest thing it took away was speech.
The ability to speak disappeared really quickly for my mom. Within about six months
we went from being able to have a conversation, laughing or talking about anything
our hearts desired, to her not being able to utter a single word. She could still make
sounds and cry, but we would never again hear her say ‘I love you,’ or anything else
for that matter.
I should take a moment to remind you of one of the most troubling aspects of ALS.
Unlike some other horrible diseases, in most cases the mind of a person with ALS
stays intact. This in itself is not the troubling part. What bothers me is that when
others were around her, they acted as if she was already dead. They would talk to
me instead of looking at and talking to her. My mom may have lost her speech, but
she had not lost her ability to communicate. I could always tell what she was saying
through her eyes; she just had to look at me and I would know what she wanted, or
I’d just hear a noise that she made and know she wanted a channel changed on the
television or needed me to scratch something.
I love the joy of communication. Anyone who has lost that ability has been dealt an
unfair blow in life. An unfair blow, but one that won’t necessarily kill you. The same
can’t be said for eating.
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As the days went by it started getting harder and harder for my mom to swallow.
Family and friends often brought homemade food, but all mom could do was smell
the aromas coming from the kitchen. This broke my heart.
We all had to adjust to how little my mom became able to eat. There are the little
things that you’d probably never imagine you’d have to change. We needed thicker
cutlery handles so mom could grasp her spoon or fork – we learned this the hard
way one night that I won’t forget when we were at a family friend’s place for dinner.
Mom couldn’t grasp the regular spoon and soon she broke down crying.
Then the day came when mom asked us to arrange for a feeding tube surgery. Mom
had always been against this – can you imagine having a tube shoved down your
throat and a hole poked in your stomach? Yet this was her only hope to get a few
more months to live.
I could tell you lots more about the daily routine of a family affected by ALS. Not
surprisingly, my mom needed us for just about everything, whether it was scratching
her nose, putting on her pajamas or needing help for all bathroom duties.
If it sounds like a lot of work, it’s because it was. But it was work that my dad and I
were happy to do if it would keep my mom comfortable or help her in any way.
The word hope may be overused, but it’s one I live by every day. My mom passed
away from ALS in January 2010, but I’m not ready to give up hope yet for all the
Call to Action others out there that are going through what my family went through. I’ve seen
firsthand the horror that is ALS. But you can change this. You can make the ending
for many other families a little happier.
Please, support the work of the ALS Society by donating to the WALK for ALS. Better
yet, join a Walk in your community and raise funds to help those, like me, affected
by this devastating disease.
Summary
Use the following tips to help you write a good testimonial:
1. Gather all the facts and information related to your problem or issue.
2. Come up with several angles for presenting it. Choose the best angle depending on your
audience.
3. White an opening paragraph that includes the five Ws – who, what, where, when, why.
Begin with a strong opening that catches the reader’s interest.
4. Include lots of facts, but adorn them, dress them up, make them interesting to the reader
(attractive to read). Make the facts come to life with your personal experience.
5. Conclude with a strong call to action.
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